Meteors and DragonCon
As those of us heading to DragonCon mount our steeds (with side satchels packed to the brim with Twilly and Zorbak dolls) we look toward the Northen sky. Huge flashes of light.... followed by deafening explosions. Meteorites! We believe they landed in several of the dungeons! There are three types that are rumored to have been spotted: Bloodember Meteorite (Level 1), an ominous Onyx Meteorite (Level 10), and a Golden Aurous Meteorite (Level 20).
Perhaps you should meet on the forums and organize a search party to find which dungeons contain these strange objects. Warlic believes that the crusts of these Meteorites will deteriorate next Friday (The 8th) revealing what is hidden inside of them.
See you after the Con!
Artix
August 30th, 2006
Petstore Quests are LIVE!
Woohooo, that was a tough one. Relog and head to the petshop.... be one of the first to tame and control a Pit Grinder *shivers*. They have one of the coolest attack animations yet! We were not able to solidly test this -- we need you help! Report bugs here.
Bug Fixes:
- The petshop should now load instead of Yulgars weapon shop
- Various typos are being fixed. Pridemaster is the new spelling
- Just changed some filenames so the new quests will show for everyone! (Even with that pesky ISP caching)
- Fixing the Pet Element and Damage problems (Their override codes were accidentaly set so they were all doing wood damage.)
- Fixed Stumpy - he attacks properly now (Clear your cache)
P.S. I do wish you could all come to DragonCON with us this weekend. Maybe we can get some more pics with Zorbak this year! Anime Depot will be carrying official AQ swag at their booth.
4:30 Update
We have just about everything working, but we have not had time to test anything. I think that means that you might be testing it. Is that ok? Give us a little bit more time to get rid of the blatant bugs.
3:30 Update
"plz mr artix i need a update if i dont get one mommy will beat me and ill die Achooo..... "
We are still finishing two of the quests and doing massive debugging. It is amazing how much of Zhoom's code we can break in such a short period of time. Best guess is we will be releasing this precisely at.... <connection trouble, message segment unreadable> ...so we will see you then!
Special Release today, then off to DragonCon 2006!
Later today we will be fully opening the petshop which features our first chain quest! (Yes, it saves your progress so you never have to redo it). A note about Grams; she will eventually be the Pet Taming Trainer. However, we thought it would be silly to just release a single skill -- so you will not require a pet taming skill to complete this round of taming quests! These new lower level pets include everything from a Snailmail to the fierce Pit Grinder!
Interesting Post!
Check out this post made by Amdusias Furfur.
August 29th, 2006
Petshop Quests tomorrow!
For our early release tomorrow we will have the very first chain quest. Expect to have to redo the rescue Aria quest one more time after it goes live to get to the good stuff! Grams is such a sweet old lady. We also have a new feature working.... cross your fingers for us -- we might just get something in the game before we leave for DragonCon to test it out!
August 28th, 2006
DragonCon is this week! *Is so excited* This also means we are planning our release for Wednesday -- wish us luck! Also, I would like to award 100 points to Gardex and the adventurers in this thread . I just cannot sneak anything past you guys!
New Record! 10,000+ simultanious users on DragonFable! WOOOHOOOOOO!
August 25th, 2006
P.S. 'Well fought Phoenix Friends" - Artix
Version 3.14b is Live!
Warriors now have their AI turned on in PvP (All except stun). You can battle your friends from the forums
by entering in their Character ID numbers. Also, the pet store is opening up (OMG... I love the battle piggy! Everyone seems to love Linus too!) Early next week you will be able to do the first chain quest there.
For the rest of the day we will be working on making the pets do their secondary attacks (ranged attacks for the win!)
More Fixes!
1.) Adding potion refills to the PvP heal button
2.) Pets are now doing their intended damage
Getting ready for a release and upgrade!
For today's launch we will be allowing you to choose ANY opponent for PvP (and if we can pick up the pace a bit the new Petshop will be live too!). Lets talk about PvP a little.... stun/sleep/distract and defend/shield are INSANE! It is no fun sitting through 3 rounds of your opponent beating on you. Now, one round I can understand... but thee? We may need to change the duration of stuns. Which raises another problem, how are we effective against monsters if the stun is only one round? (Now it is time to hit the forums) Possible solutions?
- Stun could have different effects on different monsters
- 1 Round on Players
- 0 to 3 Round on Resistant Monsters
- 3 Rounds on normal Monsters
- Stun could have a random duration
- You use stun.... each round opponent checks their resist
So.... lets say we are fighting Doomzard which has a stun resist of 0
Round 1: Roll 1 to 100, If the roll is less than 100 they are stunned
Round 2: Roll 1 to 100, if the roll is less than 60 (100-40) they are still stunned
Round 3: Roll 1 to 100, if the roll is less than 20 (100-40-40) they are still stunned
Done
- You use stun.... each round opponent checks their resist
- Stuns could just simply be.... one round long.
- Stuns could be disabled for PvP only
- We could take stuns out of the upcoming AI, and you would just always have an advantage
Think about those options for a bit and let me know what you think on the forums. If eveyrone is sort of leaning towards one solution (or if anyone has a better one) we will go that way. Well, lots to do today so back to work! Oh... I was not supposed to show this to anyone... but *looks right and left* Check this new Website Mockup Out
August 24th, 2006
DF Map Archive
Crynsos put together a really cool map archive on the forums. Further through the post you can find some screenshots from the Undead Invasion!
DragonCon Handouts
If you are heading to theconvention next week you might see some handouts that looks like these! Some of them will feature characters that have not been seen yet :-) Oooooh, and look at the new DF logo in the bottom right.
DF Website Redesign
Here is the proposed new layout for the DragonFable site. SHHHHHHH! It is top secret!
P.S. The new Petshop is starting to look good!
August 22th, 2006
Whew! What an amazing day!
Did you ever have one of those days where you were just on a roll? We made some major progress and I feel like I earned my dinner tonight! We have a quick-access map for DragonFable made, class logos ready (and they are cool!), the pet shop interior is complete and we are putting the pet taming quests together now, new NPCs are being drawn (They are cute!), a collection of crazy doors and levers have been made, and we have... *waits for the music to que* a continent map that goes from coast to coast encompasing Battleon to whatever we end up naming this town -- which we will probably destory in a giant ball of fiery dragon wrath... whoops... did I say that out loud? (Note: I may wish to share this map with Galanoth to get his approval before hitting the upload button *looks innocent*)
DragonCon 2006!
Many of the AQ/DF team will be heading to DragonCon 2006 in Georgia this year. Currently it will be Safiria, Cysero, Zhoom, Nythera, Rivet and myself. You should be able to pick us out because we will be the ones with the Twilly and Zorbak Dolls.... well, we might not be the only ones this year! We are partering up with Anime Depot who will be making our swag available at their booth. If you cannot make DragonCon this year, you can get everything online right now from Jinx! There are two events I really look forward to every year.... first is Mogloween and the annual undead assault invasion.... second is going to DragonCon to see what the rest of the fantasy community (Artists, Gamers, Musicians, Videographers, Anime-fans and Cosplayers) are doing! To say this will be inspiring is a HUGE understatement!
August 20th, 2006
New Combatants in the Arena!
You asked to battle more of the staff members... and we deliver! Reens, Icemaster Yeti, Seahawk, Geopetal and.... oh my.... oh my.... is Zartan one of Cysero's characters? The random opponent buttons have been updated with about 50 new competitors form the message forums!
Story Chains
"Dear Artix, how are are story chains going to work in DF? Also, will it be possible re-play ones we have already beaten? "
Answer: I think it would be cool if it worked like this! - Artix (Whoops - Link fixed!)
August 20th, 2006
Spoofe'm all, let the Dev team sort'em out!
Reading the forums, I thought it was a good time to make this post. Spread the good word, for I see many spoofs in thy future! A spoof (which we do pretty much non-stop) is taking something that is well known or popular and making light of it. It is both a form of flattery and really funny (At least when done in good taste). Our newest weapon, the Unsqueekable Force is a spoof of World of Warcraft's Unstoppable Force -- which pretty much every PvP'er has and uses (Including me). It is a giant Mace with a Boar's head on the end. Being the grand opening of PvP in DragonFable, spoofing the real greatest PvP weapon of all time was the PERFECT way to kick off the madness that shall ensue! (Did I spell ensure right?) I want to add a squeeky noise to the mace.... so when you hit it goes *SQUEEEEE* *SQUEEEEEE* .
August 19th, 2006
PvP Challenges!
While you are waiting for AI.... try these challenges!
1.) Use Guardian Armor -- Makes it a fair fight!
2.) Try beating someone your level with your Level 1 starting weapon!
3.) If you are really good (and a pretty high level).... get full potions and try beating everyone in order without using the heal button. See how far you can get!
August 18th, 2006
The AI PvP 1.0 Test is Live!
The build has been upgraded to 3.14159 (Gotta love Pi... we could do this forever!) Login and be one of the first to battle other players. Sure, the AI is not working and your opponents are unable to load their pets... but this is PvP 1.0!
The First PvP Challenge -- Zhoom!
Zhoom is the lead programmer on DragonFable. We buffed his character to the max and gave him a weapon that has unthinkable damage and resistances. There is a way to beat him... are you up to the challenge? This Special PvP challenge is Dragon Amulet only.
Thanks to the Brave Forum PvPers!
They did not know what they were getting into... the AI is not working, and they do not get the aid of their pets. Most likely, everyone is going to utterly destory them all weekend long! So we are tipping our hats to everyone who volunteered their characters into the first AI test. PvP 2.0 should offer some payback!
August 17th, 2006
OMG! I nearly sprayed Coffee out my nose....
In response to the lack of Moglins in the AQ Intro Movie, Lord Ouranos and the ACC from the forums put together this Completely Insane Moglified Version!
Update: Thanks to Lord Ournos for allowing us to host the file on our site. Because of this, Galanoth and I thought it would be a great idea to create free hosting for original AQ and DF related works. Basically, a webspace dedicated to all players who contribute to the gallery of creative adventurers. It would also help promote their work so other players who do not go to the forums could see it. We are figuring out the details now.
How to get Pets without using any inventory space!
Coming soon with the Petshop! Grams is the best of the best when it comes to taming animals. But she is getting up there in years.... so if you quest for her to help fill up the petshop and she will stable them for you. This will let you pick ones that are suitable for your quests at any time you want. We have 20 pets that are being worked on now, ranging from cute and cuddly to down right terrifying.
August 14th, 2006
*Swallows antibiotics* Curse you strep throat!
Last year about this time, I got sick with the exact same thing. Just a bit ago, I was in a doctors office that was overflowing with other folks who were also in for strep throat. I have no idea how this stuff spreads so fast.... but it is better than the alternatives:
Step Throat: You have to walk your food down like a slinky
Strep Moat: The chemical warfare way to guard your castle!
Strep Goat: Baaaa-Ahhhhh-Choooo.......ehhh.....
Priorities!
Read the Auguest 10th design notes for an overview of what is going on. There is A LOT! Also, Zhoom says there is a good chance we will be TESTING PvP this week!
P.S. Rolith asked me to bold, change the color, make all caps and super size the word Testing for PvP *if* we are able to get the test up in time (How was that for a disclaimer). The short term goal with PvP is to simply battle another player. The test will probably pit you against a single predefined character. The long term goal is to have an entire PvP system complete with guild wars, party vs party battles, and an arena with awards and titles you can unlock by completeing challenges!
August 11th, 2006
New Quest: A Letter From Warlic
Our first crossover quest is live! Several new items have been added and are obtainable through this quest... and they are pretty heavy for light weapons! Quests are available in both DragonFable and AdventureQuest -- play them both for the full story!
Set your startup Equipment!
If you have a DragonAmulet, you can now visit the library in the Guardian tower to set which gear you will be wearing when you start the game. It will set your default equipment to anything you wan t-- start the game with your favorite weapon, accessories, and pet!
August 10th, 2006
Thursday Night Crunch
The midnight oil will be burning tonight as Cysero and Galanoth type their fingers to the bone in hopes of releasing the first ever AQ/DF crossover quest. If it goes live tomorrow, expect it to be a late afternoon launch! Meanwhile, our next mini-game (Monster Joust Madness) is getting finishing touches added to it. Now that the Web/TV/Video animated short (3:15 minutes of non-stop undead slaying chaos) is getting music treatment, the former cartoon network animator (The one who did this) is helping me on the new Prologue -- not setting a deadline this time, it will be done when it is done right. Oishii and Milton are working on making a large number of DF pets for the upcoming pet shop. Aria's grandmother looks so cool! The equip save functionality got approval yesterday, so Zhoom is now working on the PvP loading code. There are a lot of other things in the works and I am late for my meeting... eeep! Talk to you soon!
August 9th, 2006
First Major AQ Crossover
Galanoth and Cysero are putting together the first big AdventureQuest and DragonFable cross over quest. It is the first time we are going to run two events that feed off each other -- it should be very interesting! Also, in DragonFable, we will be soon be releasing a feature that will allow you to save your equipment config. This will let you set which pieces of armor and weapons you want to be wearing when you load the game -- and what you wear in AI PvP when your character is being fought by someone else. Also, the first episode of our Web/TV/Video animated short is finished being animated and is being sent off to Warlic for music and sound FX.
August 7th, 2006
The basis for the Central Kingdom!
This weekend I went to Washington D.C. to attend a traditional India-style wedding. Wow! The dresses and decorations were so beautiful! It was extremely fun (even though there were no fist fights or rampant terror like at the last wedding I attended). This was my first trip to D.C., so I also got to see the Capitol, monuments and visit the amazing museums. The coolest thing from the trip... in the natural history museum, I saw a Frogzard! *chuckles* Well, it was one of the oldest dinosaurs and had two muscular chicken-style hind legs, not very formed front arms (Sort of like a T-rex), a HUGE head... sort of like a chicken and a frog.... ok, it was a Frogzard. I cannot remember the official name, nor could I find an image of it this morning when writing this post; but if you want to look around it would be appreciated (It was one of the very first land walking Dinosaurs... long before all the cool Dinosaurs lived.) I wonder where Dragons would appear on the Dinosaur evolution chart? I digress... now that I have visited the Capitol, I really want to start on our central kingdom. Castles, Monuments, Libraries, Museums, Art galleries.... What would "modern art" be called in DragonFable? Pre-modern art? Post-historic art? Pre-post-historic-neo-ancient art? Battle on!
P.S. About that part where Aria says that her Grandmother taught her everything she knows, but in AQ she says it was the Frogzard hunter -- this was not a mistake. You will see *winks*
August 4th, 2006
What is in the works!
Below is what you should expect to see next:
- New Quest - Today!
- Saving your equiped item config - It is working on the test server: Coming soon!
(This is important for AI PvP because it will determine what you use initially to battle with... not to mention it will be great logging in and not having to re-equip your favorite gear!) - Prologue - In development
- Pet Shop - In development
- Administration Hall - In development
(This hall will have the upcoming bank and stat trainer in it) - More and more quests!
August 3rd, 2006
Forum guesses about who will be in the new Quest!
After reading the boards about which AdventureQuest character will appear in Friday's quest... I have only one thing to say, "You are right, this person certainly has some experience with certain types of Dragons!" (Cysero told me to say it!)
A Town of many names
Our quest to name our town continues. From the contest on the forums there were SO MANY great names! The town names that we think fit best so far include Swordfall (by All seeing eye), Falconreach (From IRC), and Heroshire (Inspired by a combination of Forum suggestions). What are your thoughts?
We are looking for a few things in the name of this town:
- Should be short, simple, easy and make sense
- Inspire visions of heros, hope, and adventure
- Under even the "goodest" towns there is a secret lair for mischievous rogues to meet.
- This is only one town -- there will be many!
- Yes, I actually said "goodest" above... take that 3rd Grade teacher Mrs. Lavitro!
So do any of the names above hit you? Let us know on the forums.
August 2nd, 2006
The Prologue is postponed :-(
While every fiber of me hates to do this, I am pushing back the release date for the Prologue. There was just not enough time to get it done right. I am sorry guys, but I do not want to release this rushed -- I think that this opening quest and story is just too important. Give me a bit longer on this one, please.
New Quest this Friday
The good news is that Cysero will be releasing a new quest on Friday which will feature a very familiar face from the Town of Battleon!
August 1st, 2006
Geopetal and Icemaster Yeti promoted to staff!
Everyone's favorite moderators, Geopetal and Icemaster Yeti, have signed away their soul, first born children, and a lederhosen shaped sandwich to become an official part of the AE staff! Congratulations to both of you (and congratulations to us too -- we are very fortunate to have you!)
=DF= Contest: Town Name!
A list of town names has been compiled (Geo and Ice rock!) and we are in the process of choosing one! The person who named the town will get to be mayor for a while -- complete with a town issue that will play out on the forums requiring your involvement. If this turns out to be fun, we will do a lot more things like it.
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